Opsware Acquires iConclude

Data center automation specialist Opsware Inc. has agreed to acquire IConclude Co. in a cash and stock deal valued at approximately $54 million. Opsware paid $30 million in cash, plus 3.39 million shares. iConclude makes software that helps companies troubleshoot and repair IT infrastructure problems. The two-year-old company based in Bellevue, Wash. has raised about $12 million in financing.

The acquisition is expected to allow Opsware's data center automation tools to interoperate with systems management software from HP, IBM and BMC. "Not only does iConclude's software make it easier for customers to automate with the existing Opsware suite, [but] it also orchestrates all of the other IT management tools they use, providing an unprecedented degree of efficiency and control," Ben Horowitz, president and chief executive of Opsware, said in a statement.